George McGovern

In a speech at Wheaton College in Illinois shortly before the 1972 presidential election, George McGovern — World War II veteran, South Dakota Senator and antiwar candidate — told his audience, “I felt called into the work of serving others. At first I thought that my vocation was in the ministry. And I enrolled in the seminary … After a period of deep reflection, I decided that I should become a teacher. Yet even in my teaching, I still felt that there was something else for me to do. And that is what finally led me into politics.”

Later in his speech, he defined what it meant to serve others: “We know that the kingdom of God will not come from a political party’s platform. And we also know that if someone is hungry, we should give him food. If he is thirsty, we should give him drink. If he
is a stranger, we should take him in. If he is naked, we should clothe him. If he is sick, we should care for him. And if he is in prison, we should visit him.”